Al-Musrati

Almoatasembellah Ali Mohamed Al-Musrati (Arabic: المعتصم بالله علي محمد المصراتي; born 6 April 1996), known simply as Al-Musrati, is a Libyan professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Süper Lig club Beşiktaş.

Al-Musrati
المصراتي

Al-Musrati playing for Beşiktaş in 2024
Personal information
Full name	Almoatasembellah Ali Mohamed Al-Musrati[1]
Date of birth	(1996-04-06) 6 April 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth	Misrata, Libya[1]
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Beşiktaş
Number	6
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2017	Al-Ittihad Tripoli
2017–2019	Vitória de Guimarães B	40	(1)
2019–2020	Vitória de Guimarães	5	(0)
2020	→ Rio Ave (loan)	12	(0)
2020–2024	Braga	97	(10)
2024	→ Beşiktaş (loan)	9	(0)
2024–	Beşiktaş	6	(0)
International career
2014–2023	Libya	42	(2)
Medal record Representing  Libya African Nations Championship Winner 2014 South Africa
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 October 2024

Club career

Vitória de Guimarães

Reserve team

In January 2017, he signed a three-and-a-half-year deal at Vitória de Guimarães of Portugal's Primeira Liga, on the recommendation of their former player Romano Sion.^[2] He began playing for their reserve team in LigaPro, and on 4 March 2018 scored his first goal to equalise in a 1–1 draw away to União.^[3]

First team

On 5 August 2019, Al-Musrati made his debut for the first team, playing the full 90 minutes of a 1–0 win at Feirense in the second round of the Taça da Liga.^[4] Thirteen days later he made his Primeira Liga debut in a 1–1 home draw with Boavista and was third-place in the vote for the league's best midfielder of the month, behind Bruno Fernandes and Pizzi.^[5] On 12 December, he scored his only goal for the first team, equalising in a 3–2 comeback win at Eintracht Frankfurt in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League; his club was already eliminated.^[6]

Loan to Rio Ave

Al-Musrati was loaned to Rio Ave of the same league on 29 January 2020, for the rest of the season.^[7] He, Diogo Figueiras and Nuno Santos were sent off on 17 June in a 2–1 home loss to Benfica.^[8]

Braga

On 31 July 2020, Al-Musrati signed a four-year deal at Braga, joining his former Rio Ave manager Carlos Carvalhal.^[9] His first goal was on 26 November, to open a 3–3 home draw with Leicester City in the Europa League group stage;^[10] three days later he struck for the first time in the top flight to win at the Estádio Municipal de Braga against Farense.^[11] He was voted the league's Player of the Month for February 2021.^[12]

On 15 August 2023, he scored a goal in a 4–1 away victory over TSC during the 2023–24 Champions League third qualifying round,^[13] to be the first Libyan to score in European competitions.^[14] A month later, on 20 September, he made his Champions League group stage debut in a 2–1 defeat against Napoli,^[15] to be the first Libyan to achieve this feat.^[16]

Beşiktaş

On 9 February 2024, Al-Musrati joined Turkish Süper Lig club Beşiktaş on loan from Braga until the end of the 2023–24 season, in exchange for a €1 million loan fee, with a subsequent mandatory buy-clause of €11 million (conditional on performance), which could rise to €13.5 million with add-ons.^[17][18][19]

On 13 February 2024, the club officially announced that they used mandatory buy-clause of €11 million and Al-Musrati completed a permanent transfer to Beşiktaş. Al-Musrati thus became the most expensive transfer in Beşiktaş history.^[20] Later that year, on 23 May, he scored his first goal for the club in the fourth minute of stoppage time in the Turkish Cup final, securing a 3–2 victory over Trabzonspor.^[21]

International career

Al-Musrati was first called up for Libya at the 2014 African Nations Championship in South Africa, and played all but one game including the penalty shootout win over Ghana in the final.^[22][23]

On 8 October 2024, Al-Musrati announced his retirement from international football, citing personal reasons.^[24]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 3 August 2024^[25]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		League cup[b]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Vitória de Guimarães B	2016–17	Liga Portugal 2	3	0	—		—		—		—		3	0
	2017–18		10	1	—		—		—		—		10	1
	2018–19		27	0	—		—		—		—		27	0
	Total		40	1	—		—		—		—		40	1
Vitória de Guimarães	2019–20	Primeira Liga	5	0	1	0	—		7[c]	1	—		13	1
Rio Ave (loan)	2019–20	Primeira Liga	12	0	—		—		—		—		12	0
Braga	2020–21	Primeira Liga	28	3	6	0	3	0	7[c]	1	—		44	4
	2021–22		30	1	2	0	2	0	11[c]	1	1[d]	0	46	2
	2022–23		28	3	4	1	3	1	6[e]	0	—		41	5
	2023–24		11	3	0	0	1	0	8[f]	1	—		19	4
	Total		97	10	12	1	9	1	32	3	1	0	151	15
Beşiktaş (loan)	2023–24	Süper Lig	9	0	4	1	—		—		—		13	1
Beşiktaş	2024–25	Süper Lig	0	0	0	0	—		—		1[g]	0	1	0
Career total			163	11	18	2	9	1	39	4	2	0	230	18

1. Includes Taça de Portugal, Turkish Cup
2. Includes Taça da Liga
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
4. Appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
5. Five appearances in UEFA Europa League, one appearance in UEFA Europa Conference League
6. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
7. Appearance in Turkish Super Cup

International

As of match played 23 March 2023

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Libya	2014	6	0
	2015	9	1
	2016	7	0
	2017	6	1
	2018	3	0
	2019	4	0
	2020	2	0
	2021	3	0
	2023	2	0
Total		42	2

International goals

Scores and results list Libya's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Elmusrati goal.^[26]

List of international goals scored by Ali Elmusrati

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	6 September 2015	Petro Sport Stadium, New Cairo, Egypt	Cape Verde	1–1	1–2	2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
2	7 October 2017	Stade Mustapha Ben Jannet, Monastir, Tunisia	DR Congo	1–1	1–2	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Braga

• Taça de Portugal: 2020–21^[27]

• Taça da Liga: 2023–24^[28]

Beşiktaş

• Turkish Cup: 2023–24

• Turkish Super Cup: 2024^[29]

Libya

• African Nations Championship: 2014^[23]

Individual

• Primeira Liga Player of the Month: February 2021

• Primeira Liga Midfielder of the Month: February 2021

References

1. Al-Musrati at Soccerway
2. Andrade, Tomaz (21 February 2017). ""Al Musrati tem grande futuro, daqui a dois anos não está cá"" ["Al Musrati has a big future, two years from now he won't be here"]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 27 February 2020.
3. "U. Madeira-V. Guimarães B, 1-1: Madeirenses não seguraram a vantagem" [U. Madeira-V. Guimarães B, 1–1: Madeirans fail to keep the lead]. Record (in Portuguese). 4 March 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
4. "V. Guimarães elimina Feirense e está na fase de grupos da Taça da Liga" [V. Guimarães eliminate Feirense and are in the group phase of the Taça da Liga]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 5 August 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
5. "Bruno Fernandes eleito o melhor médio do mês de agosto" [Bruno Fernandes chosen as best midfielder in the month of August] (in Portuguese). Bancada. 11 September 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
6. "V. Guimarães despede-se com vitória em Frankfurt (Veja os golos)" [V. Guimarães sign off with victory in Frankfurt (Watch the goals)]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 12 December 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
7. "Rio Ave garante empréstimo de Al Musrati" [Rio Ave secure loan of Al Musrati]. Record (in Portuguese). 29 January 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
8. "Benfica vence em Vila do Conde perante Rio Ave que terminou com nove" [Benfica win in Vila do Conde against a Rio Ave who finished with nine]. O Guardião (in Portuguese). 18 June 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
9. "Al Musrati assina por quatro épocas pelo SC Braga" [Elmusrati signs for four seasons for SC Braga] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 31 July 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
10. "Braga vs Leicester result: Jamie Vardy strikes late to secure draw and spot in Europa League knockout stages". The Independent. 26 November 2020. Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
11. "Braga vence lanterna e assume a vice-liderança do Campeonato Português" [Braga defeat bottom team and take second place in Portuguese Championship] (in Portuguese). UOL. 29 November 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
12. "Liga: Al Musrati eleito o melhor jogador do mês de fevereiro" [Liga: Elmusrati voted February's Player of the Month] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
13. "TSC Bačka Topola 1–4 Braga". UEFA. 15 August 2023.
14. المعتصم باللّه المصراتي يسجل أول هدف للاعب ليبي في دوري أبطال أوروبا (فيديو). alwasat.ly (in Arabic). 17 August 2023.
15. "Braga 1–2 Napoli". UEFA. 20 September 2023.
16. المصراتي أول ليبي يخوض دوري الأبطال ضد ريال مدريد ونابولي. alaraby.co.uk (in Arabic). 1 September 2023.
17. "Al Musrati transferido para o Besiktas" [Al Musrati transferred to Besiktas] (in European Portuguese). S.C. Braga. 9 February 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
18. "Yeni Transferimiz Al-Musrati İstanbul'da" [Our New Transfer Al-Musrati is in Istanbul] (in Turkish). Beşiktaş J.K. 9 February 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
19. "Al-Musrati'nin Transfer Süreci Tamamlandı" [Al-Musrati's Transfer Process Completed] (in Turkish). Beşiktaş J.K. 9 February 2024.
20. "Beşiktaş, Al Musrati'nin opsiyonunu kullandı". ntvspor. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
21. "Beşiktaş edge Trabzonspor 3-2 to clinch 11th Turkish Cup title". Daily Sabah. 23 May 2024.
22. "Halftime: Libya 0-0 Ghana". Soccer Laduma. 1 February 2014. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
23. Alie, Mohammed (1 February 2014). "CHAN 2014: Libya beat Ghana to snatch first African title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
24. "Al-Musrati Decided to Retire from National Team". Raillynews. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
25. Al-Musrati at Soccerway
26. "Mohamed, Almoatasembellah Ali". National Football Teams. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
27. Ribeiro, Patrick (23 May 2021). "Braga beat nine-man Benfica to lift Portuguese Cup". PortuGOAL. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
28. "Sp. Braga vence a Taça da Liga pela terceira vez" [Sp. Braga wins Taça da Liga for the third time]. Público (in Portuguese). 27 January 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
29. "Besiktas claims Turkcell Super Cup with 5-0 win over Galatasaray". Türkiye Today. 3 August 2024. Retrieved 3 August 2024.

External links

• Al-Musrati at Soccerway
• Al-Musrati at National-Football-Teams.com